C.O.R.E. Growth
The Elements of Successful Businesses
While every business has elements that are unique. Every successful business shares common characteristics with other successful businesses. The basis of success is established during start-up. Without a solid foundation, organizations struggle to find customers and close deals. They often also can’t articulate the benefits they provide to the customer. At FOCUS, we call that success foundation C.O.R.E. Genesis℠.
The C.O.R.E. Genesis℠ elements of concept and opportunity provide the framework for selecting your target customers and market niche. Customers (C) are the starting point of your C.O.R.E. Growth℠ journey. This is where your business focuses its efforts and resources. Generally, successful businesses narrow their focus to a few select market segments to enable them to maximize return on investment (ROI).
Your Operations (O) make or break your business. In other words, operations are the systems you put in place you keep your promises to the customer. This element consists of how you do business, serve the customer, and keep your commitments. The operational aspect of the business is equally important as the product/solution you sell. The reality is it doesn’t matter how great the solution or how many prospects you have or even how many people say, “Yes I’ll buy,” IF you can’t deliver. The operations of the business determine how much it costs to do business, to keep the promise to the customer, to product and deliver the product, etc. Countless businesses have started with a great idea, found the right market, built a fabulous product or technology and went out of business—because they couldn’t operate their business properly.
Success requires Results (R). Results are about what you do for the customer and how those results translate to your business’s results. So, R is a two-fold factor in your business. If you don’t get results for your customers (solve their problems and meet their needs), your business can’t succeed. The business results or goals/targets consistently involve three key metrics: Revenues, profits, and cash flow. These financial metrics reflect the ability of the business to get the sale, deliver the product, obtain resources, control costs, and do business. These results are also indicators of the effectiveness of the business’s ability to Execute.
Execution (E), is the act of serving the customer and doing business. An inability to execute, to get things done on time and with quality will decide if your business thrives or merely survives. I have worked with clients who acquired important technology and product solutions from companies who failed to execute. They either failed to define the business, to find the customer, to develop the customer’s understanding of the solution’s benefits, mismanaged the production or operations, or all of the above. If you can’t execute, then you won’t succeed. Whether it is analysis paralysis, waiting for a “perfect” time, or moving too quickly or too slowly, the reality is that you have to execute to succeed.
